P i
d v y s o k evillage in West Ukraine, the
village where I was born and where I grew up

SHORT HISTORICAL NOTE ON
PIDVYSOKE:

Before 1387 village
was an outpost on the approaches to the capital HALYCH
(Galic
/ Halicz /Galicz) of the Ruthenian (Ukrainian) Kingdom
/ Principality of Galicia. It is about 35 km
to Halych from Pidvysoke. Ancient sculpture of Slavic
pagan god stood on the Lopushna hill near Pidvysoke. It was
taken to the historical museum to nearby town Rohatyn and then lost. In 1387
Pidvysoke as the rest of Galician principality was taken
by Polsih king armies and incorporated into Polish
Kingdom.

Polish name:
Podwysokie. During 1387 - 1772 and 1918 - 1939 village
was part of Poland)

Russian name:
PODVYSOKOYE. During 1939 - 1991 village was part of the
USSR / Soviet Union in the Ukrainian Soviert Socialist
Republic which became independent in 1991

Pidvysoke is a small
village in western part of Ukraine and has about 400
inhabitants. It is located in Berezhany (Berezany /
Brzezany) district of Ternopil region (historic area of
Halychyna or Galicia in English) about 18 km south west
from town Berezhany and about 14 km
east from town Rohatyn (Rogatin / Rohatin
The village si naerly merged with surrounding villages
such as Lopushna /Lopuszna, Demnya /Demnai and Verkhnia
Lypytsya (Lipica Gorna/ Verkhnyaya Lipitsa) .

Pidvysoke used to be
a small town in early times and had its own castle even,
out of which we had only a castle hill left, with a cross
installed on the top of it. Pidvysoke Church was built as
Roman Catholic Church to serve local Polish inhabitants
who lived in the village along with some Ukrainians and
Jews. In 1939 Pidvysoke and surrounding areas (after the
pact of Molotov - Ribentropp) were taken by Soviet armies
and incorporated into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialsit
republic. Most of Pidvysoke Poles were resettled to
present-day Poland lands. Thus, now only Ukrainians
remained and the village is exclusively Ukrainian. Church
was devastated and closed down during Soviet times but
with the collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukraine independence,
the church was rennovated and restored and now it serves
as Greek Catholic church for local Ukrainians who are mostly
Greek Catholics with very few Ukrainian Orthodox.
Orthodox Church is in the mentioned above nearby village of
Verkhnya Lypytsya.

Click the pictures on the page
to enlarge!

Picture above: front
view of Pidvysoke church

Picture
above: back view of Pidvysoke church

Picture above:
Pidvysoke church general view

Picture above: View
over Pidvysoke church and hill at night. January, 2001.

Picture above: View
from Pidvysoke church and chapel over the opposite mountain
covered with beach forests. January, 2001.

Picture above: Back
part of Pidvysoke church. January, 2001

Picture above:
Pidvysoke church court, view from the left

Picture above: Me in
Pidvysoke,
near my grandparents' house, where I grew up. Click to enlarge.

All copyrights reserved @ 2001-2005. Pictures taken by Roman
Zakharii in Pidvysoke in January 2001 (during Ukrainian Christmas
days). Page created by Roman Zakharii in Oslo, Norway. Updated in 2013. Please
e-mail me at zaxaria@gmail.com